My Gallant Enemy by Rexanne Becnel

In Rexanne Becnel’s award-winning debut novel, an innocent noblewoman is forced to honor a betrothal agreement with a ruthless warrior who is her family’s most bitter enemy Lady Lilliane was betrothed to Corbett of Colchester at the age of fourteen, long before their families became sworn enemies. Years later, Corbett unexpectedly turns up to claim his beautiful bride and, by contract, her valuable dowry: Castle Orrick. Suspecting some royal intrigue lies behind Corbett’s sudden desire for this marriage, Lilliane vows she will never lie in his bed. But what fate awaits Lilliane—and all England—if she resists him? And what darker fate if she surrenders?

Rexanne Becnel is the author of more than twenty historical romance and contemporary mainstream novels, many of which appeared on the "USA Today" bestseller list. With the publication of her first novel, "My Gallant Enemy", Becnel won the Waldenbooks Award for Best First-Time Romance Author and the Romantic Times Award for Best Medieval Romance by a New Author. While growing up, Becnel lived for a time in Germany and England, where she became fascinated by medieval history. After studying architecture at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, she worked as a building inspector for the Vieux Carre Commission, the agency of the City of New Orleans charged with protecting and preserving the distinct architectural and historic character of the French Quarter. Becnel lives in New Orleans with her husband and two children.